Flight 17 was shot down in Eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 on board. Around 228 coffins have been returned to the Netherlands.

Rutte also said that information from a Ukrainian military doctor who had overseen operations in the days immediately following the crash "has changed the recovery team's perception of an earlier effort undertaken by local authorities."

"There was an intensive search in the area with 800 volunteers," he said.

The Dutch led-international recovery team that arrived in the area later has not found a large number of human remains.